Upstate Medical University

Vector-Borne Diseases

Mission Statement

The SUNY Center for Vector-Borne Diseases (CVBD) strives to promote interdisciplinary
research (basic, translational, and clinical) and education among SUNY Upstate Medical
University and SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry faculty with research focused
on tick & mosquito-borne diseases and other zoonotic diseases.

Goals

The primary goals of the SUNY Center for Vector-Borne Diseases (CVBD) are to:

  1. Facilitate and promote interdisciplinary and interinstitutional research (basic, translational, and Clinical) on broad aspects of tick & mosquito-borne diseases such as but not limited to, Lyme disease, Powassan encephalitis, Ehrlichiosis Anaplasmosis, West Nile virus encephalitis, Chikungunya, Dengue, and Zika virus disease, and other emerging zoonotic diseases.
  2. Facilitate developing and testing novel countermeasures to control/prevent (therapeutics and vaccines) tick and mosquito-borne diseases.
  3. Promote and support interdisciplinary education and training of graduate, post-doctoral fellows, and undergraduate students interested in tick and mosquito-borne diseases.
  4. Engage and educate the community on tick- and mosquito-borne diseases and how to protect from getting tick and mosquito bites.

Research Spotlight

tickMAP: A public health tool to track the emergence of ticks and tick-borne diseases in New York:

SUNY CVBD researchers are engaging with the community to track the emergence of
ticks and tick-borne diseases are at: www.nyticks.org. The data collected from this project is
used to develop a public health mapping tool (dashboard), the tickMAP [www.tickmap.org].

For additional information and collaborative opportunities, please contact Dr. Saravanan Thangamani, Director, SUNY Center for Vector-Borne Diseases.